Category: iWorld

Mumbai: FanCode has once again bagged the exclusive digital broadcasting rights for the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL). Bangladesh’s flagship T20 league will be played from 6 January to 16 February and it will feature top cricketers from Bangladesh, Pakistan, the West Indies, and others.

All matches will be streamed live on the FanCode app for Android, iOS, and linked TVs, as well as on www.fancode.com. FanCode is also offering tournament passes at low prices for fans without monthly or yearly subscriptions.

Shakib al-Hasan, Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Tamim Iqbal, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz, and Mohammad Amir are slated to play in the tournament. The U-19 World Cup-winning captain for India, Unmukt Chand, is making his debut in the BPL and will play for the Chattogram Challengers.

The other six teams in the contest are Fortune Barishal, Sylhet Strikers, Khulna Tigers, Comilla Victorians, Dhaka Dominators, and Rangpur Riders. The 2023 edition will feature 46 matches, more than the 34 matches played last season.

Mumbai: Following the announcement of its largest theatrical slate for 2023, Lionsgate has partnered with PVR Pictures for a massive roll-out of blockbuster content in India. This collaboration will provide moviegoers with an exceptional cinematic experience, with titles such as ‘Plane’, ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’, and many more.

The first film to be released under this arrangement will be the action-packed blockbuster ‘Plane’, starring Gerard Butler and Mike Colter, in January 2023. That’s just the start; the 2023 film lineup also includes highly regarded titles including Francis Lawrence’s ‘The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbird & Snakes’, ‘White Bird: A Wonder Story’ starring Gillian Anderson and Helen Mirren, the comedy-drama ‘About My Father’, and the action-thriller ‘Bricklayer’.

Commenting on the collaboration, Lionsgate India managing director of emerging markets Asia Rohit Jain said, “We are delighted to partner with PVR Pictures for all our theatrical releases in 2023. With movie aficionados returning to theatres, and the growing popularity of Hollywood films in India – we believe this collaboration will offer the best viewing experience of quality blockbuster content to all. With billion-dollar franchise titles and critically acclaimed cinema that will hit the screen this year – we are certain this is the biggest year for Lionsgate in India from a theatrical standpoint, and we are looking forward to it.”

Speaking about the association, PVR Pictures CEO Kamal Gianchandani said, “We are absolutely thrilled to be working with Jain and his team. At a time when our industry has faced possibly its biggest crisis, we are excited to be partnering with one of the greatest film corporations in the world! The creative excellence, diversity, and quality of films that Lionsgate has presented to the global entertainment industry are invaluable. As India’s leading theatrical distribution company, we are committed to keep elevating the gold standards of cinema experience for movie enthusiasts. We are certain that Lionsgate’s 2023 film slate will be an absolute treat for the Indian audiences to watch.”

Mumbai: The Foundry, a premiere IP content development studio & production company, has signed a deal with Audible, a leading global provider of original spoken-word entertainment and audiobooks. The Foundry will produce over 60 hours of content, licensed to Audible. The licenced content comprises original scripted multicast fictions as well as adapted and dramatised classic stories in the audio format.

An initial slate of titles from this deal that have been created by The Foundry’s dedicated audio division have premiered on Audible’s service and their rollout continues in the months ahead. Debuted audiobooks include the robust Hindi adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” (Sherlock Holmes Ki Romanchak Kahaniyan) and Munshi Premchand’s masterfully distinct literary classic “Karmabhoomi”; about turmoil in common colonial living. In the pipeline, is the delightful multicast Hindi adaptation production of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.”   

The Foundry will licence to Audible original series created by their creator-in-chief Vekeana Dhillon from their in-house development catalogue of over 90 audio IPs as part of this deal. This includes one of India’s first disaster audio series, Trapped, a powerhouse drama in which residents and rescuers grapple in the ruins of an urban high-rise building collapse; and a mind-bender of deception and suspense involving a coma patient in the mystery thriller The Woman in Bed#3.    

The Foundry has previously produced the popular audio show on Audible titled Uncovidable which showcases the journey of a woman caught in the whirlwind of the nationwide lockdown during the covid 19 pandemic.  It is written by Vekeana Dhillon and voiced by Mahira Kakkar in English and Bollywood celebrity Rasika Duggal in Hindi.   

Audible director of content – India Ridhima Thakral commented, “We are delighted to have stories produced by The Foundry, one of the country’s premiere content development studios, on our service. With stories produced across genres, including classics, mysteries, dramas, and many more debuting on our service, we are excited about the incredible entertainment in store for Audible members.”

The Foundry head of production and business Vikram Dhillon said, “We’re fully committed to heightening the ‘cinematic’ experience of our handpicked stories. As it is, we’re thriving in our storytelling offerings of rich narratives and complex characters across mediums in series, feature films, and animation. Audio emboldens us to construct a next-generation entertainment experience, and we do so, proudly, in presenting our never-heard-before slate of content for our listeners.”

Mumbai: The Delhi high court passed a John Doe order restraining all websites and broadcasters, including www.vcinemas.com, and the ‘world at large’ from airing its talk-show Unstoppable, featuring Nandamuri Balakrishna as host, which is streamed via its OTT platform, aha, run by Arha Media and Broadcasting.

Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva observed that, given the plaintiff’s investment in the show, any illegal broadcasting would severely affect its monetary interest and also diminish the value of the show.

The media company is represented in the high court by the law firm Anand and Naik, and the same was argued by veteran attorneys Ameet Naik and Pravin Anand.

The company has recently approached the HC by instituting a John Doe suit and seeking an injunction to restrain the illegal and unauthorised dissemination of the original web talk-show, which is set to air its upcoming episode on 30 December 30 and feature Telugu film industry superstar Prabhas. The company expects substantial viewership for this episode that would result in higher monetary gain. It has already spent Rs 17 crore on the production, promotion, and marketing activities of the talk-show series.

Considering the investments the company has made in the talk-show series, the HC has observed that any illegal broadcasting would severely affect its monetary interest and also diminish the value of the talk-show series.

Commenting on the verdict, Anand and Naik joint managing partner and lawyer Ameet Naik said, “Piracy of films, web-series, and entertainment content has always been a huge menace in the media and entertainment industries. Before a film is released in theatres, there are rogue websites and various links that make the movie available to the public at large, which has a significant adverse effect on the commercial performance of the film. In an effort to combat the said menace, the courts have historically been indulgent in granting John Doe orders prior to the release of films. The present order passed by the Delhi high court in favour of Arha Media, owner of the OTT platform ‘aha’, is a similar order wherein the Delhi high court has granted a John Doe order for the show Unstoppable, originally produced and made available exclusively by an OTT platform, wherein infringing links were making the show and its episodes available, even prior to the release of the show on the OTT platform. The order of the Delhi high court to address piracy and grant relief is highly commendable.”

Unstoppable was first launched on 4 November 2021 and it concluded in February 2022. Following the success of season 1, season 2 started in October this year, and the show is still continuing.

Also Read: ‘Unstoppable with NBK 2’: aha to stream mega episode starring Prabhas in two parts

Mumbai: Prabhas and his best friend Gopichand are set to appear on the celebrity chat show Unstoppable with NBK, hosted by actor Nandamuri Balakrishna. As per the initial schedule, part one of the mega-episode will stream on 30 December while the second part is scheduled to stream on 6 January.

Unstoppable 2 with NBK, and his advent has grabbed the eyeballs of many. The episode is set to serve a full-course meal to the fandom as it has captured countless memories of Prabhas and Gopichand with Nandamuri Balakrishna. That being the case, aha has had a tough time editing the episode because the moments one should experience are worthwhile. Therefore, the 100 per cent local platform decided to air the Baahubali episode in two parts.

In the history of the show, this is the first episode to be cut into two different episodes. While the first episode is a fun interaction between Nandamuri Balakrishna and Prabhas on 30 December exclusively on aha as a new year treat, the 6 January episode is about Prabhas and his best pal, actor Gopichand, and NBK, where they share their struggles in the industry and how their friendship blossomed over the years.

According to an official source, “We have received numerous messages from fans asking us not to edit the episode. Additionally, aha and Prabhas have been delighted with the outcome. Therefore, we decided to go ahead with the two parts after consulting Prabhas, Nandamuri Balakrishna, and the team internally. There is no better way to celebrate the new year than with the Prabhas episode with NBK on aha. Expect the unexpected, as so much fun, and revelations will hit the aha screens on 30 December and 6 January.”

In the episode Baahubali: The Beginning of Unstoppable 2 with NBK, Nandamuri Balakrishna reveals a bit of fun by asking Prabhas about his relationship with Seetha, to which the latter reveals a lot of things that were unheard and unseen by the people across.

Mumbai: In 2022, Planet Marathi owned the Marathi entertainment space with breakthrough content, OTT innovations, and business integrations. Planet Marathi OTT, being the only OTT that exclusively streams Marathi content worldwide, dominates the Marathi OTT market.

Planet Marathi is currently streaming across 60+ countries, amassing nine lakh Marathi audiences across the world.

The content slate voraciously expanded throughout the year with releases like Anuradha, Badlee, Mein Punha Yein, Raanbaazaar, Sahela Re, June, Sumi, Athang, and Baby on Board, to name a few. A massive variety of genres like romance, comedy, family drama, politics, crime, thriller, and satire were explored in the Marathi web series category, which changed the game for Marathi content in the web space entirely.

Planet Marathi OTT pushed cutting-edge content into the mainstream spotlight with national award-winners like Sumi and the world’s most watched Marathi web series like Raanbazaar and Athang. With the best quality Marathi content, the immense capability it holds to shape the future of the regional OTT space was well demonstrated.

On the theatrical release front, Planet Marathi has brought to life a variety of cinematic spectacles, right from experimental content to period drama magnum opus films, by investing in high production values and marketing efforts. Its extravagant releases of 2022 have names like Pondicherry, Tamasha Live, Sunny, Chandramukhi, and Goshta Eka Paithanichi, among others.

The phenomenal branding efforts pushed boundaries and redefined the way films from the Marathi industry were viewed much before their release. This year was a national award-winning year for Planet Marathi, as its Goshta Eka Paithanichiwon the best Marathi and premiered internationally in Singapore.

Along with its large-scale investment in production value, branding, and marketing efforts, Planet Marathi expanded its reach vertically and horizontally through impact-driven business collaborations with mega players. Its collaboration with Tata Play, set precedent as it was among the only few OTTs that joined hands with the content distribution giant to reach out to audiences more conveniently. It has entered into upcoming international and local collaborations, which are in the announcement pipeline.

“We started Planet Marathi to disrupt the Marathi entertainment industry and take it to a global audience. With a quality content slate like big theatrical releases of Chandramukhi and national award-winning Gosht Eka Paithanichi, to name a few, and the Planet Marathi OTT platform and its content like Raanbaazaar, Athang, and Anuradha, among others, we were able to raise the bar for the industry. These victories have humbled us even more and made us hungrier to do bigger and better work of value. This is not just our win; it is the win of all the people who have worked with us across teams and the win of our audiences. Looking ahead, we’ve envisioned and are working toward greater technology, massive productions, and significant collaborations to accelerate our growth in this journey,” commented national award winner and Planet Marathi OTT founder Akshay Bardapurkar.

Mumbai: As the world celebrated Christmas and was a jolly environment for many on Sunday, it was not the case for MX Player global content acquisitions & alliances senior vice president Mansi Shrivastav. Little did she know that she would breathe her last on a day that the world rejoices.

Shrivastav was a professional and leader in the media & entertainment space for over two decades, working with MX Player. As senior vice president of content acquisitions, alliances, and distribution at MX Player, she was instrumental in the creation of India’s largest video-on-demand service, which has transformed the current digital landscape by developing first-of-their-kind, ground-breaking, and one-of-a-kind content strategies to expand market size with a robust and diverse content portfolio.

Throughout her career, she also conceptualised and laid the groundwork for some of India’s leading TV channels, including Movies Now, Zoom, Romedy Now, MN+, and Channel V, where she oversaw the programming and content strategies that ensured market leadership in their respective segments.

With her mantra of life being “forget the day’s troubles, remember the day’s blessings—tomorrow is another day,” as Scarlett O’Hara says – Shrivastav was a damsel who lived in the moment.

A girl who loved spending time with her family and friends and was an absolute fan of her mother’s cooking, Shrivastav was strong about great nutrition, long walks, yoga, and meditation, and also had a parallel life interest in watching American reality TV shows and rom-coms.

Shrivastav thought that more kindness would make the world a better place. She was of the view that life is all about balance. “You don’t always need to be getting stuff done. Sometimes it’s perfectly okay and absolutely necessary to shut down, sit back, do nothing, and reset,” she believed.

Here’s hoping she has a great reset, up above.